Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong will never go out of style. People still write books about the greatest jazz trumpeter of all time. His music still turns up in movies and on television. Companies continue to issue new collections of his old recordings. Successive generations of musicians cite him as an inspiration.

And every August in New Orleans, the free Satchmo Summerfest is staged at the Old U.S. Mint in his honor.

Now in its 13th year, Satchmo Summerfest was initially intended to rectify a glaring lack of hometown recognition for the most prominent and important entertainer ever born in New Orleans.

It remains true to that mission, even as it fills what would otherwise be a quiet weekend at the height of the summer doldrums.

Still far smaller and more intimate than the now-massive French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest – which is produced by the same nonprofit organization as its much larger sister festival -- is nonetheless growing. And more expansion is on the way.

"We're looking at this as the last year of it being a small, boutique festival," said Marci Schramm, executive director of French Quarter Festivals Inc., the firm that produces the event. "We're bursting at the seams at the Mint.

"We're not sure where it's going, but we're going to grow it. When a festival is good, it grows."

This year, the festival has expanded to three full days, Friday through Sunday, Aug. 2-4, 2013, on the grounds of the Old U.S. Mint at 400 Esplanade Ave. It has acquired its first-ever title sponsor, Chevron, in a multi-year agreement that will help fund the festival's future growth and the expansion of its footprint.

And its first-time bookings this year include Allen Toussaint, one of the living titans of New Orleans music, and New York-based trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, a major Armstrong enthusiast who is also one of the most respected trombonists in all of modern jazz. They, along with the rest of the roster, can be heard for free.

Satchmo Summerfest

What: The 13th annual festival dedicated to the life, legacy and music of Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong features live jazz, brass bands, and more, plus seminars, a children's area, crafts, dance lessons, a jazz Mass and second line parade .

Toussaint, followed by Gordon, top off Friday’s program on the Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage (named for a sign-off Armstrong routinely used in his correspondence). Earlier on Friday, the RB&RY Stage features clarinetist Tim Laughlin paired with cornetist Connie Jones, and a set by singer Meschiya Lake and her swinging ensemble, the Little Big Horns.

Vocalist John Boutte is making his Satchmo debut on Friday -- and may
actually play some trumpet, which he rarely, if ever, does
onstage.

"A lot of the musicians are planning unusual, special
sets," Schramm said. "They're really thoughtful about their
performances" and how to link them to Armstrong.

On Saturday, Japanese trumpeter Yoshio Toyama, a Satchmo Summerfest favorite who also is a regular at an Armstrong-themed festival in Japan, returns with his band, the Dixie Saints. A Japanese youth jazz ensemble, the Swing Dolphins – the local Tipitina’s Foundation helped replace instruments the Dolphins lost in the 2011 tsunami – also performs on Saturday, further highlighting an ongoing cultural exchange between New Orleans and Japan.

Three of the city’s marquee trumpeters -- Kermit Ruffins, Jeremy Davenport and Leroy Jones -- are on the bill for Sunday. In addition to his own set with his Barbecue Swingers, Ruffins will lead the festival’s trumpet finale.

Meanwhile, activities inside the Mint building – which, the sweating masses may want to note, is enthusiastically air-conditioned – put the music in context, and tie the entire festival even more directly to Armstrong.

Various panels and discussions in the Mint’s third floor studio feature major figures from Armstrong’s universe, as well as contemporary keepers of his legacy. They include Ricky Riccardi, an Armstrong archivist and the author of the meticulously detailed 2011 book “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years.” He’ll curate multiple sessions, including three differently themed screenings of Armstrong film footage.

During another session, Dr. Michael Cogswell, director of the Armstrong House Museum in Queens, will lead a tour of Armstrong’s personal record collection.

George Avakian produced a host of Armstrong recordings in the mid-1950s, recordings that are the subject of a forthcoming nine-CD box set. Avakian is slated to discuss his days roaming the globe recording Armstrong.

To truly be a first-rate Louisiana festival, indigenous food must be served alongside the music. Satchmo Summerfest obliges with an assortment of booths stocked by local restaurants selling samples of their fare. Armstrong, a noted red beans and rice enthusiast, would likely arch an eyebrow at such contemporary variations as the red bean and rice milk, or the pickled Gulf shrimp with chilled red bean and rice salad, both of which are on the festival menu.

Rounding out the program are a variety of kids’ activities on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. on the Mint’s second floor; free dance lessons throughout the festival; Louisiana State Museum exhibitions featuring Fats Domino’s restored piano and artifacts from the first 50 years of Preservation Hall; and the traditional Jazz Mass at St. Augustine church in Treme on Sunday.